Saturday, July 18, 2009

So, it's been a couple of months since my last post- there's been some off-season "24" news that other sites have covered, which I'm sure the more conscientious of my readers have tracked down- so, I've felt no duty to recycle that content here. Soon enough (post-Comic Con, maybe) I'll do a Season 8 news roundup. But in the meantime, sit tight good people.

I've nothing staggering to report on my end of this keyboard. I am, however, witnessing a world that is baffling me at present (the news is pretty depressing lately, don't you agree?). So, I've taken to some pleasant Summer distractions, some of which I'll list below:

TV: "Burn Notice" is my new addiction. If you haven't had the chance to watch this show, get to it. This is fairly breezy entertainment- following the exploits of a former international spy who's stuck on-the-outs of his community after he was "burned" by his former employer. With few friends to rely on (save for a bloated Bruce Campbell and an emaciated Gabriel Anwar), lead character Michael Weston has to piece together his life with shoestring resources (literally, the guy uses household supplies in a way that rivals MacGuyver) to get by. The stakes sound serious, but the attitude is light and comedic in many places. And all of the characters have good chemistry. In its third season on the USA Network, "Burn Notice" is the TV version of Summer reading. I highly recommend it to anyone unaware of the show- here's where you can catch up on the series so far: Burn Notice: Seasons 1-2

Books: I recently read a great piece of fiction about (of all things) Superman- it's called "It's Superman!" by Tom De Haven. This isn't a comic book, it's an actual novel, and the writing is fantastic. Set in the Depression Era 1930s, this is an adult take on the Man of Steel. It's not without its humor, as Clark Kent is truly a buffoon without having to try in many instances, but if you enjoy the recent "Batman" movies for their realism, "It's Superman!" is a refreshing telling of an otherwise overdone piece of pop-mythology- you can get a copy here: It's Superman!: A Novel

Movies: Man, has this Summer been bad for movies. I've seen most of the big blockbusters, and they're all not worth mentioning in any great detail. I'm all for checking my brain at the door when it comes to cyborg killer robots or two-story tall angry robots (lots of robots, have you noticed?) but come on already! I have a small bit of desire to see "Public Enemies" but that's something I may reserve for home video. There is one movie that has caught my attention from its trailers, "District 9"- a sci-fi story about an alien ship crashing on Earth and its insectoid crew being enslaved by humans in South Africa. Sure, the political allegory is as subtle as a Michael Bay movie, but the footage looks great and the viral web campaign is pretty neat (dammit, why did I say "neat"?). That comes out August 14th, so keep your antennae alert for when it hits your local theater. Here's the trailer:

Otherwise, I hope you're all having a good time this Summer. Here in New York, things are rather mild- no heat wave to speak of (which is excellent) and it appears as if our monsoon season of May and June has finally passed. Yeah, I'm talking about the weather now... and that means it's time to wrap up this burrito and send you off to your merry July antics. Check back in a couple of weeks, I will have something more 24-related for you then.